Molding nine newcomers into a No. 15 ranking and 8-0 start was just the appetizer, however, as the Ducks are now tasked with mixing in potentially three key contributors entering the meat of their schedule.

Saturday’s 6 p.m. game against Illinois (8-1) at Portland’s Moda Center marks the final game of sophomore point guard Dominic Artis and sophomore forward Ben Carter’s nine-game suspensions for selling team-issued apparel. It’s also the day after Oregon’s fall trimester ends, a key date for the addition of 6-foot-7 freshman forward Jordan Bell. Bell did not initially qualify academically for the school but said last week he has since been admitted and would join the team “within days.” He could still redshirt the season.

Though the additions could be viewed as potentially messing with the Ducks’ chemistry, this latest challenge of mixing in reinforcements is a decidedly good problem to have for a team that was down to eight healthy and eligible scholarship players in mid-November.

“It’s nothing,” sophomore Damyean Dotson said of the returns of Artis and Carter. “We practice with them every day, so just playing in a game, they’re not there, so we have to substitute someone else in. … When they come back, it’ll be all normal. It’ll just be different for them.”

The three won’t provide a solution for Oregon’s Achilles’ heel of lacking interior size, but they will add layers to its depth and athleticism. UO is deepest at shooting guard and the two forward positions, with Waverly Austin and Johnathan Loyd currently the team’s only true center and point guard, respectively.

Carter adds to that glut at forward but brings a different element than Richard Amardi or Elgin Cook with his comfort shooting outside the key. If he can improve his 38 percent clip from last season, it could stretch defenses and allow point guards such as, say, Artis, to dart into the lane to either distribute or score.

Last season, he proved he was equally good at both by averaging 8.5 points and 3.2 assists in the 28 games he played as a true freshman, including 25 starts.

It was that kind of output that suggested Artis' suspension would hurt Oregon most by leaving Loyd fatigued from the brunt of the ballhandling responsibilities. Indeed, though he's averaging the third-most minutes on the team so far, none of the doom-and-gloom predictions came true. Instead, Loyd is thriving to the tune of 11.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists. The capper was Sunday's 23-point, 15-assist performance at Mississippi.

“Those are two great players but people on our team are stepping up,” Loyd said.

No matter whether Artis and Carter will return as reserves or supplant teammates as immediate starters, they are expected only to bolster an offense among the nation’s elite. Oregon’s 52.9 shooting percentage is fifth among Division I’s 345 teams, and its 57.5 percent shooting on two-point field goals and 43.4 from three, each ranks among the nation’s 10 best marks, per KenPom.com.

“It isn’t like those guys are brand new to the program,” Oregon assistant Tony Stubblefield said.

It’s a good thing Oregon is making shots, too, because its 93rd-ranked offensive rebounding rate doesn’t often give it many second chances. Enter Bell, a shot-blocking, rebounding ball of athleticism out of Long Beach, Calif., in the mold of Amardi and Cook. He averaged 7.3 rebounds per game in three years of high school.

As the start of Pac-12 play looms on Jan. 2, the scope of Bell's role is hardest to gauge. At the least, he's one more ingredient left in the talented hands of Altman.

“It’s going to be somewhat of an adjustment getting those guys back into the rotation,” Stubblefield said. “But them guys are team guys who want to see the team be successful, so they’re going to come back in and I think fit into what we’re trying to do.”